Combined car-door and conductor s observatory



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-S-h eet 1 W SUTTON COMBINED OAR DOOR AND OONDUOTORS OBSERVATORY.

Patented June 13,1893.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

W. SUTTON. COMBINED GAR DOOR AND GONDU'GTORS OBSERVATORY. No. 499,604. Patented June 13, 1893.

IOv

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SUTTON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

COMBINED CAR-DOOR AND CONDUCTORS OBSERVATORY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,604, dated June 13, 1893.

Applioation filed April 23, 1892. Serial No. 430,379. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WTLLIAM SUTTON, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in a Combined Folding Oar-Door and Oonductors Observatory,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to and consists in a system of semicircular and glazed pendent folding doors and double glazed incasement, within which incasement said doors fold over the somewhat elongated end platforms, the conductor standing on either of which platforms facing said glazed incasement, the same constituting a means as an observatory throughwhich (whether said doors be folded or closed) he is enabled to watch the passengers in the car and be cognizant of their movements when they desire to alight; and the invention consists in featuresof novelty hereinafter fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is an end elevation of a'car to which my folding door and observatory system is attached, and shows the are shaped folding doors closed, with part broken away, to show the semi-circular track bearer bar, one of the duplex semi-circular track rails, supported by pendent lugs from said bearer rail, and the hanger rollers secured to the top of said doors and mounted on said track. Fig. II is ahorizontal section taken on line IIII, Fig. I, and shows one of the elongated end platforms, with standing room for the conductor, facing the glazed observatory which with the are shaped folding doors project over a' portion of said platform; it also shows a detail of the interior of the seated car. Fig. III is a top view of the projecting semi-circular duplex folding doors and observatory system and shows the track rails, the hanger rollers that carry said doors mounted on said rails, and the glazed observatory through which the conductor watches his charge. Fig. IV is a vertical section taken on line IV-IV, Fig. V, and shows the bearer bar, the duplex track rails suspended from said bar, the folding doors, and the roller hangers secured thereto, the rollers of which hangers are mounted on said track rails; and Fig. V is an enlarged detail front view and shows the bearer bar, the track rails with their hanger attachment to said bar, one of the folding-doors and the hanger roller secured thereto, said roller mounted onits rail track.

Referring to the drawings: 1 represents a car to which my system of duplex folding doors and conductors observatory is attached. 2 are the ends of said car and 3 the elongated end platforms over which said observatory and duplex folding door systems project.

I will now describe the more especial elements that constitute my combined folding car door and conductors observatory system, it being understood that while I describe the system as attached to one end of the car, its exact duplicate is attached to the other end thereof.

4 represents an are shaped vertical incasement, which occupies the middle space in my combined observatory and folding door semicircular system. The said incasement surmounted by the semi-circular cap 5 ascends from the floor 6 of said platform to the overhanging roof 7 0f the car, to which floor and roof the said parts are secured. 8 represents the inside frame and 9 the outside frame of said incasement, which inner and outer frames are set sufficiently apart for the folding of the are curved folding doors 10, which when closed reach from said incasement on either hand to the entrance door-way posts 11 at the inolosed end 2 of the car. The said frame incloses the chamber 35 in which said doors fold. The inside frame 8 and the outside frame 9 of the incasement 4 are of similar construction, except that the outside frame is proportionally the wider of the two to the extent of its radialextension due to its forming the arc of a larger circle; so that the description and indicative numbers of the constituent parts of each are duplicates of those of the other. 12 represents the vertical stiles and 13 the arc curved horizontal cross-rails which respectively inclose the are curved wooden panels 14 in the base of said incasement frames and the are curved glass pane 15 in the upper or observatory portions of said frames.

16 represents a semi-circular metal bearer bar, which is secured at its terminal ends to the doorway posts 11, and may also be socured at the middle and intervening points by hanger straps 17 directly to the projecting roof of the car to which said hangers are secured by the bolts 18 and to said bearer bar by the bolts 19. While] have described said semi-circular bearer bar 16 as of metal and secured by pendent hangers from the projecting ends of the car roof, yet I do not confine myself to said construction for said surmounting bearer may be made of wood, and in such case its arc shaped top would preferably extend to and be secured to said roof all along its upper edge. The top of the folding deercasing may either be connected to said semicircular cap 5 by means of the track bar and bearer bar and their hanger connections with the overhanging roof, or otherwise, as described,or thevertical postsof thecasingframe in which the folding door and observatory system work may be extended clear through the roof; the said slight differences of construction being only matters of minor detail and not interfering with the essential features of theinvention. 20 represents pendent hangers which are secured at sufficiently near intervals to said bearer bar by the screws or bolts 21, and 22 is a semi-circular track bar, which is preferably welded to or integral with said hangers, but may be bolted thereto, and the ends of said track bar rest on and are upheld by the posts or bracket supports 23, which brackets are secured to the doorway posts 11. g 24 represent the two are curved rails of the double tracl; system which rails are bolted on each side of said track bar and individually raised sufficiently above the same to form independent tracks on which run the roller carrier wheels 25 of the respective folding doors. The said carrier wheels run on the journal pins 26 which are respectively secured in and project from the bearer-hangers 27, the attachment feet 28 of which hangers are respectively secured to the individual folding doors that they carry by the screws or bolts 29. The doors 10 are thus suspended by said roller hangers, and each pendent door runs on its individual arc-curved parallel track within the incasement at, so as to fold parallel and into conjunction with each other.

The folding doors are of like construction so that a description of one will also suffice for its duplicate. 30 represents the vertical stiles and 31 the are curved horizontal rails of the frame of said pendent door, which stiles and cross rails respectively inclose the are curved wooden panels 32 in the lower part of said door and the arc curved glass pane 33, in the upper part thereof. 34 represent vertical bars which at the two ends of the incasement 4:, form respective buifer stays for the inner and outer folding doors, at the respective terminal of their folds. The said vertical bars also strengthen said incasement frame and constitute a guide and closure bars or posts when the casing frame'ascends from floor to roof, as seen in broken lines in Fig. I, are secured to said casing and to the roof and platform at top and bottom. Each door in folding is guided by and runs or slides alongside the bar 34 that in its other function constitutes the buffer-stay to the other parallel running folding door.

The operation of my combined folding car door and conductors observatory system is asfollows:

First. The elongated end platforms allow convenient standing room for the conductor, facing the windows 15 of the incasement 4, be- -taveen the inside and outside walls of which incasement, the hanging folding doors are run on their individual arc-curved tracks when opening and closing.

Second. It will be seen that when the conductor is thus standing at his observatory post, there is a clear view for him through the windows of said incasement all along the interior of the car and through the duplicate windows at the front end through which he train-which is generally constituted of' two cars, so that he can watch the motions of both the passengers who may desire to alight, and of the motor or grip man as the case may be.

Third. The opened doorways that constitute the inlets and outlets to and from the car present respectively approximately to the sides of the platform on which passengers mount when entering and from which they dismount when aligh-ting. Thus said passengers in passing do not inoommode the conduct-or when he stands at his post of observation, nor does the conductor incommode the passengers as they pass back and forth.

Fourth. The conductor is ina convenient position between the two doors for opening either or both of them, and also for closing the same.

Fifth. On double track roads where, for safety it is required that the passengers shall only mount the car and alight therefrom on the side away from the parallel track, the same is effected by only opening the door on the safe side, and the other door may if desired be locked, to prevent its being opened by incautious passengers. This arrangement overcomes the necessity of using the stop gates to prevent passengers from al-ighting on the danger side next the parallel track, for all that is required to effect that purpose is to keep the folding door on that side shut and fastened. v

Sixth.,When used as an attachment for cars on electric lines, the elongated platform afiords a convenient standing room for the motor man,'so that the sides of said platform where the folding doors open can also be used for the entrance and departure of passengers, without their interference with the motor man or his interference with their movements.

joint for the folding doors, and said vertical At the same time the observatory glazed incan observe the car in front, all along the casement, provides a clear view between said motor man and conductor, so that each can observe signals made by the other, and the motor man is also in a convenient position to open or close the folding doors on his platform, when the conductor is not at hand, and when the other duties of said motor man do not supervene to prevent his attention thereto. The usual practice in electric motor cars is to debar passengers from mounting and alighting from the front platform to prevent interference with the motor man, but in my device, as stated above, the front platform can also be used by the passengers in mounting and dismounting without interference with the motor man.

Seventh. On single tracks where there is no parallel car line both folding doors can be opened so as to either fill or empty the car in much less time; and, eighth, the projecting semi-circular incasement folding door system provides sheltered standing room at each end of the car for a number of passengers when both the seats and aisle are full, safely protected from the sun, rain or cold.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory, the combination of the double incasement 4, located at the middle of the end platform and the pendentfolding car doors 10, which doors when open fold and are housed within said incasement; substantially as described.

2. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory, the combination of the elongated platform, and the arc-curved folding car door casing that projects above the center of said platform; behind which casing the elongation of the platform extends, substantially as described.

3. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory, the combination of the elongated platform, the arc-curved folding car door casing that projects above said platform, the double incasement 4:,in the middle of the platform, and the pendent folding doors 10 which fold and are housed Within said incasement; substantially as described.

4. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory the combination of the are framed folding car door casing, the double incasement 4, in the middle of said casing the observatory windows 15 in said double incasement, the are curved track bar 22, the double track secured to said bar, the folding glazed doors 10, the hangers 27 secured to said doors, and the carrier roller wheels 25, that are journaled on said hangers and that respectively run on said double track; substantially as described.

5. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory, the combination of the double incasement, having the duplex folding door track within it, the folding door casing frame, the are curved bearer bar or cap, the hangers 2O pendent from said cap, the arecurved track-bar 22 sustained by said hangers, the duplex track rails secured to said track-bar, the folding glazed doors 10, the hangers 27 secured to said doors, and the carrier roller Wheels 25 journaled on said hangers 27, and that travel on said duplex tracks;

substantially as described.

6. In a combined folding car door and conductors observatory, the combination of the elongated platforms 3, thearc shaped casing frame that projects over said platform, the are shaped double incasement 4:, the observatory windows 15 in said incasement, the duplex overhead track rails 24, the folding doors 10, the hanger roller wheels that travel on said track and suspend said doors, and the windows 33 in said doors; substantially as described.

7. In a combined folding car door and conduetors observatory, the combination of the elongated end platform, the are curved casing above said platform, the double are curved incasement 4 having the windows 15, provided with the duplex foldingchambers 35 the vertical combined guide and bufier bars or posts 34, the are curved duplex rail track, and the roller hung folding doors with the windows 33, the rollers of said doors running on said rail tracks and folding Within said duplex folding chambers 35; substantially as described.

WILLIAM SUTTON.

In presence of- BENJN. A. KNIGHT, SAML. KNIGHT. 

